Above-50-percent vendors means vendors that derive more than 50 percent of their annual food sales revenue from WIC food instruments, and new vendorapplicants expected to meet this criterion under guidelines approved by FNS.

Affirmative Action Plan means that portion of the State Plan which describes how the Program will be initiated and expanded within the State's jurisdiction in accordance with § 246.4(a).

A-130 means Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130, which provides guidance for the coordinated development and operation of information systems.

Cash-value voucher means a fixed-dollar amount check, voucher, electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card or other document which is used by a participant to obtain authorized fruits and vegetables. Cash-value voucher is also known as cash-value benefit (CVB) in an EBT environment.

Competent professional authority means an individual on the staff of the local agency authorized to determine nutritional risk and prescribe supplemental foods. The following persons are the only persons the State agency may authorize to serve as a competent professional authority: Physicians, nutritionists (bachelor's or master's degree in Nutritional Sciences, Community Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition, Dietetics, Public Health Nutrition or Home Economics with emphasis in Nutrition), dieticians, registered nurses, physician's assistants (certified by the National Committee on Certification of Physician's Assistants or certified by the State medical certifying authority), or State or local medically trained health officials. This definition also applies to an individual who is not on the staff of the local agency but who is qualified to provide data upon which nutritional risk determinations are made by a competent professional authority on the staff of the local agency.

Competitive bidding means a procurement process under which FNS or the State agency selects a single source (such as a single infant formula manufacturer offering the lowest price), as determined by the submission of sealed bids, for a product for which bids are sought for use in the Program.

Compliance buy means a covert, on-site investigation in which a representative of the Program poses as a participant, parent or caretaker of an infant or child participant, or proxy, transacts one or more food instruments or cash-value vouchers, and does not reveal during the visit that he or she is a program representative.

Contract brand infant formula means all infant formulas (except exempt infant formulas) produced by the manufacturer awarded the infant formula cost containment contract. If under a single solicitation the manufacturer subcontracts for soy-based infant formula, then all soy-based infant formulas covered by the subcontract are also considered contract brand infant formulas (see § 246.16a(c)(1)(i)). If a State agency elects to solicit separate bids for milk-based and soy-based infant formulas, all infant formulas issued under each contract are considered the contract brand infant formula (see § 246.16a(c)(1)(ii)). For example, all of the milk-based infant formulas issued by a State agency that are produced by the manufacturer that was awarded the milk-based contract are considered contract brand infant formulas. Similarly, all of the soy-based infant formulas issued by a State agency that are produced by the manufacturer that was awarded the soy-based contract are also considered to be contract brand infant formulas. Contract brand infant formulas also include all infant formulas (except exempt infant formulas) introduced after the contract is awarded.

CSFP means the Commodity Supplemental Food Program administered by the Department, authorized by section 5 of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973, as amended, and governed by part 247 of this title.

Discount means, with respect to a State agency that provides Program foods to participants without the use of retail grocery stores (such as a State agency that provides for the home delivery or direct distribution of supplemental food), the amount of the price reduction or other price concession provided to any State agency by the manufacturer or supplier of the particular food product as the result of the purchase of Program food by each such State agency, or its representative, from the manufacturer or supplier.

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) means a method that permits electronic access to WIC food benefits using a card or other access device approved by the Secretary.

Electronic signature means an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or associated with an application or other record and executed and or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.

Employee fraud and abuse means the intentional conduct of a State, local agency or clinic employee which violates programregulations, policies, or procedures, including, but not limited to, misappropriating or altering food instruments or cash-value vouchers, entering false or misleading information in case records, or creating case records for fictitious participants.

Family means a group of related or nonrelated individuals who are living together as one economic unit, except that residents of a homeless facility or an institution shall not all be considered as members of a single family.

Farmer means an individual authorized by the State agency to sell eligible fruits and vegetables to participants at a farmers' market or roadside stands. Individuals who exclusively sell produce grown by someone else, such as wholesale distributors, cannot be authorized.

Farmers' market means an association of local farmers who assemble at a defined location for the purpose of selling their produce directly to consumers.

Fiscal year means the period of 12 calendar months beginning October 1 of any calendar year and ending September 30 of the following calendar year.

Food instrument means a voucher, check, electronic benefits transfer card (EBT), coupon or other document which is used by a participant to obtain supplemental foods.

Food sales means sales of all SNAP eligible foods intended for home preparation and consumption, including meat, fish, and poultry; bread and cereal products; dairy products; fruits and vegetables. Food items such as condiments and spices, coffee, tea, cocoa, and carbonated and noncarbonated drinks may be included in food sales when offered for sale along with foods in the categories identified above. Food sales do not include sales of any items that cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits, such as hot foods or food that will be eaten in the store.

Homeless facility means the following types of facilities which provide meal service. A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter (including a welfare hotel or congregate shelter) designed to provide temporary living accommodations; a facility that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or a public or private place not designed for, or normally used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

Homeless individual means a woman, infant or child:

(a) Who lacks a fixed and regular nighttime residence; or

(b) Whose primary nighttime residence is:

(1) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter (including a welfare hotel, a congregate shelter, or a shelter for victims of domestic violence) designated to provide temporary living accommodation;

(2) An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized;

(3) A temporary accommodation of not more than 365 days in the residence of another individual; or

(4) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

IHS means the Indian Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Inventory audit means the examination of food invoices or other proofs of purchase to determine whether a vendor has purchased sufficient quantities of supplemental foods to provide participants the quantities specified on food instruments redeemed by the vendor during a given period of time.

Members of populations means persons with a common special need who do not necessarily reside in a specific geographic area, such as off-reservation Indians or migrant farmworkers and their families.

Migrant farmworker means an individual whose principal employment is in agriculture on a seasonal basis, who has been so employed within the last 24 months, and who establishes, for the purposes of such employment, a temporary abode.

Multi-function equipment means Point-of-Sale equipment obtained by a WICvendor through commercial suppliers, which is capable of supporting WIC EBT and other payment tender types.

Nonprofit agency means a private agency which is exempt from income tax under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.

Nutrition education means individual and group sessions and the provision of materials that are designed to improve health status and achieve positive change in dietary and physical activity habits, and that emphasize the relationship between nutrition, physical activity, and health, all in keeping with the personal and cultural preferences of the individual.

Nutrition Services and Administration (NSA) Costs means those direct and indirect costs, exclusive of food costs, as defined in § 246.14(c), which State and local agencies determine to be necessary to support Program operations. Costs include, but are not limited to, the costs of Program administration, start-up, monitoring, auditing, the development of and accountability for food delivery systems, nutrition education and breastfeeding promotion and support, outreach, certification, and developing and printing food instruments and cash-value vouchers.

Other harmful substances means other substances such as tobacco, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications that can be harmful to the health of the WIC population, especially the pregnant woman and her fetus.

Participant violation means any deliberate action of a participant, parent or caretaker of an infant or child participant, or proxy that violates Federal or State statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures governing the Program. Participant violations include, but are not limited to, deliberately making false or misleading statements or deliberately misrepresenting, concealing, or withholding facts, to obtain benefits; selling or offering to sell WIC benefits, including cash-value vouchers, food instruments, EBT cards, or supplemental foods in person, in print, or online; exchanging or attempting to exchangeWIC benefits, including cash-value vouchers, food instruments, EBT cards, or supplemental foods for cash, credit, services, non-food items, or unauthorized food items, including supplemental foods in excess of those listed on the participant's food instrument; threatening to harm or physically harming clinic, farmer, or vendor staff; and dual participation.

Rebate means the amount of money refunded under cost containment procedures to any State agency from the manufacturer of the particular food product as the result of the purchase of the supplemental food with a voucher or other purchase instrument by a participant in each State agency's program. Such rebates shall be payments made subsequent to the exchange of a food instrument for food.

Remote Indian or Native village means an Indian or Native village that is located in a rural area, has a population of less than 5,000 inhabitants, and is not accessible year-round by means of a public road (as defined in 23 U.S.C. 101).

Single-function equipment means Point-of-Sale equipment, such as barcode scanners, card readers, PIN pads and printers, provided to an authorized WICvendor solely for use with the WICProgram.

State means any of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

State agency means the health department or comparable agency of each State; an Indian tribe, band or group recognized by the Department of the Interior; an intertribal council or group which is an authorized representative of Indian tribes, bands or groups recognized by the Department of the Interior and which has an ongoing relationship with such tribes, bands or groups for other purposes and has contracted with them to administer the Program; or the appropriate area office of the IHS.

State Plan means a plan of Program operation and administration that describes the manner in which the State agency intends to implement and operate all aspects of Program administration within its jurisdiction in accordance with § 246.4.

Supplemental foods means those foods containing nutrients determined by nutritional research to be lacking in the diets of pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children, and foods that promote the health of the population served by the WICProgram as indicated by relevant nutrition science, public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns, as prescribed by the Secretary in § 246.10.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is the program authorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 ( 7 U.S.C. 2011, et. seq.), in which eligible households receive benefits that can be used to purchase food items from authorized retail stores and farmers' markets.

Vendor means a sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperative association, corporation, or other business entity operating one or more stores authorized by the State agency to provide authorized supplemental foods to participants under a retail food delivery system. Each store operated by a business entity constitutes a separate vendor and must be authorized separately from other stores operated by the business entity. Each store must have a single, fixed location, except when the authorization of mobile stores is necessary to meet the special needs described in the State agency's State Plan in accordance with § 246.4(a)(14)(xiv).

Vendor authorization means the process by which the State agency assesses, selects, and enters into agreements with stores that apply or subsequently reapply to be authorized as vendors.

Vendor limiting criteria means criteria established by the State agency to determine the maximum number and distribution of vendors it authorizes pursuant to § 246.12(g)(2).

Vendor peer group system means a classification of authorized vendors into groups based on common characteristics or criteria that affect food prices, for the purpose of applying appropriate competitive price criteria to vendors at authorization and limiting payments for food to competitive levels.

Vendor violation means any intentional or unintentional action of a vendor's current owners, officers, managers, agents, or employees (with or without the knowledge of management) that violates the vendoragreement or Federal or State statutes, regulations, policies, or procedures governing the Program.

WIC-eligible nutritionals for participants with qualifying conditions (hereafter referred to as “WIC-eligible nutritionals) means certain enteral products that are specifically formulated to provide nutritional support for individuals with a qualifying condition, when the use of conventional foods is precluded, restricted, or inadequate. Such WIC-eligible nutritionals must serve the purpose of a food, meal or diet (may be nutritionally complete or incomplete) and provide a source of calories and one or more nutrients; be designed for enteral digestion via an oral or tube feeding; and may not be a conventional food, drug, flavoring, or enzyme. WIC-eligible nutritionals include many, but not all, products that meet the definition of medical food in Section 5(b)(3) of the Orphan DrugAct ( 21 U.S.C. 360ee(b)(3)).